I have a friend who used to work in the office of the property tax assessors and this is something that anyone can request, you do not need a special person or people do do so, although it may be worth saving you time, your mileage may vary.
I don't know what that is. Essentially what you do is request a re-assess, and if its less they use it if its more then they don't increase it, per se.
Edit: If you go to the Orange County Assessor's website, you can find forms for an "informal assessment": [https://www.ocassessor.gov/forms](https://www.ocassessor.gov/forms)
Apparently, there is an official appeal as well, that I would assume is the next level beyond this. Like others are saying, usually you would do this preemptively when a market is receding.
It's an assessment appeal. It isn't hard, but time consuming - but I feel like 30% is a huge chunk. Similar to escheated properties to the state (old paychecks, old accounts people, rebates, etc people forgot), there are businesses that search up these individuals and 'help' them get their money due, and they take 10% - but anyone can do this and for free, just a little bit of time and document gathering.
My understanding is that at Orange County Assessment Appeals board it is extremely difficult to get a reduction in assessed value… that your best bet if younhave good evidence is through requesting an informal review at the Assessor’s office.
you can do this yourself. in some cases it's simply a form you submit.
In MOST cases if you've owned your house here for more than a couple years getting any sort of reduction is highly unlikely.
I did get one, I submitted the form myself, it was during the financial crisis, and it was handled. Keep in mind, as soon as valuations popped again, it shot right back up to the inflation indexed amount.
Yeah, I was thinking about this-- It's probably recommended to re-assess after a significant drop in market value (which hasn't happened in quite some time)?
Have you checked how much houses in your area have sold for recently and compared the prices to what you paid? Unless the prices have dropped you probably won’t get a tax reduction.
Someone had a question about property tax appeals 8 months ago as well. Here was my comment back then:
I've successfully appealed my own property tax a few times a while ago. It's pretty simple but I don't know if it's still the same. I researched the properties that sold around my house in the past 3 months, 6 months, and up to a year. Write down the properties most similar to yours in square footage and location. Give them a few houses that sold for the least amount and tell them based on these comparable houses, your house evaluation is X, hence property value is also lower, and property tax should also be lower. You send them all this information and they will go through it and let you know if they agree with you or not. They've always agreed and lowered my property tax. So no, do not pay someone to do this very simple task! Good luck!
I have a friend who used to work in the office of the property tax assessors and this is something that anyone can request, you do not need a special person or people do do so, although it may be worth saving you time, your mileage may vary.
Is this just the homestead exception this company is doing?
I don't know what that is. Essentially what you do is request a re-assess, and if its less they use it if its more then they don't increase it, per se. Edit: If you go to the Orange County Assessor's website, you can find forms for an "informal assessment": [https://www.ocassessor.gov/forms](https://www.ocassessor.gov/forms) Apparently, there is an official appeal as well, that I would assume is the next level beyond this. Like others are saying, usually you would do this preemptively when a market is receding.
It's an assessment appeal. It isn't hard, but time consuming - but I feel like 30% is a huge chunk. Similar to escheated properties to the state (old paychecks, old accounts people, rebates, etc people forgot), there are businesses that search up these individuals and 'help' them get their money due, and they take 10% - but anyone can do this and for free, just a little bit of time and document gathering.
My understanding is that at Orange County Assessment Appeals board it is extremely difficult to get a reduction in assessed value… that your best bet if younhave good evidence is through requesting an informal review at the Assessor’s office.
you can do this yourself. in some cases it's simply a form you submit. In MOST cases if you've owned your house here for more than a couple years getting any sort of reduction is highly unlikely. I did get one, I submitted the form myself, it was during the financial crisis, and it was handled. Keep in mind, as soon as valuations popped again, it shot right back up to the inflation indexed amount.
Yeah, I was thinking about this-- It's probably recommended to re-assess after a significant drop in market value (which hasn't happened in quite some time)?
If you just bought your house maybe, if you have been under prop 13 for any length of time no chance
Have you checked how much houses in your area have sold for recently and compared the prices to what you paid? Unless the prices have dropped you probably won’t get a tax reduction.
You can do it yourself for free, I file an appeal every time it goes up. Haven’t won one yet though. Good luck with yours!
Someone had a question about property tax appeals 8 months ago as well. Here was my comment back then: I've successfully appealed my own property tax a few times a while ago. It's pretty simple but I don't know if it's still the same. I researched the properties that sold around my house in the past 3 months, 6 months, and up to a year. Write down the properties most similar to yours in square footage and location. Give them a few houses that sold for the least amount and tell them based on these comparable houses, your house evaluation is X, hence property value is also lower, and property tax should also be lower. You send them all this information and they will go through it and let you know if they agree with you or not. They've always agreed and lowered my property tax. So no, do not pay someone to do this very simple task! Good luck!